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Tuesday, September 2, 2008

How to Make a Petticoat

So a few days turned into over a week. Sorry. Last week was my last chance to be lazy until Thanksgiving break in November, so I watched a couple movies, read Watchmen, and took a few naps. So for those of you who have a sewing machine, some time, and a little patience here is the tutorial, finally:

HOW TO MAKE A PETTICOAT

A few notes to begin:

1. Petticoats should be made from bottom to top.

2. They can have 3 tiers, or 5 tiers, or 7, whatever; the one I am making has 3 tiers.

3. The bottom tier (on the one I am demonstrating) is a total of 8 yards, which is gathered into 4 yards, which is gathered into 2 yards, and that is gathered into my waist measurement.5. This one can be adjusted for a longer skirt if needed.

6. You should read all of these directions through first, before starting on yours.

7. If you have any questions or suggestions, post them in comments, and I will answer them there as soon as I can.

STEP 1:Things you need

1. 4 yds of tulle or crinoline*

2. About 16 yds of 7/8" ribbon

3. 1/4" twill tape (equal to your waist measurement)

4. 1 hook and 3 eyes, or your preference of closing devices

5. Fray Check**6. A regular pencil or a fabric pencil, not a marker. If you use a fabric marker and apply Fray Check to it, it will smear and get all over.

**If you use crinoline you will need to get Fray Check; if you use tulle, none is needed.

STEP 2:Math

How long should your petticoat be?

-It should be 1" shorter than the shortest skirt you plan on wearing it with. Most of my skirts from waist to hem are about 23", so my petticoat will be 22". This way, if I wear a skirt/dress that is 24" from my waist to the hem, I can just wear the petticoat a little lower. And I won't risk it being seen.

How long (vertically) should each tier be?

-So this gets a little tricky. The hem of the bottom tier does not need a seam allowance, as the ribbon is just folded around the bottom. The top of it (the bottom tier that is) will have 1/2" seam allowance (I am used to working with 1/2", if you like 5/8", just use 1/2" it will be a lot easier to do the math). The middle tier will have have 1/2" s.a. on the bottom, and 1/2" s.a. on the top. The top tier will have 1/2" s.a. on the bottom, but no s.a. on the top, that will be finished just like the hem of the petticoat, with ribbon folded over the edge.

Ok, so I want my petticoat to be 22", but I have to take the seam allowances into account. As you can see above I will have a total of 2" in seam allowance (four 1/2" s.a.'s) so that makes 24" total, which is easy 24"/3tiers=8"tiers

Another example: If you want your petticoat to be 24", take 24+2(s.a.'s)=26. 26/3= 8.6666667. I would just round to 8 1/2". In the end your petticoat will be 1/2" shorter, and it won't really make a difference, trust me. Or if that bothers you, you can just add 1/2 to one of the tiers, when you mark them.

So back to my 8" tiers. Keeping all the tiers the same length makes it a lot easier to draw and cut the pieces. But I will end up with a petticoat whose tiers are not equal in length. The bottom tier will end up being 7 1/2'', the middle one will be 7'' and the top will be 7 1/2'' a total of 22". Does that make sense? If it doesn't now, read on and it will.

STEP 3: Drawing, gluing, and cutting

First, I will draw four 8in x 4yd strips. (I will be using my measurements for instructing purposes, so 8" might not be your measurement)

Once those are drawn, go back and put Fray Check on them. Every place there is a pencil mark, Fray Check needs to go.

Then cut them out. Cut two 4 yd strips, cut one 4 yd strip in half so you are left with two 2 yd strips, and then cut a 2 yd strip in half so you have two 1 yd strips.

STEP 4: Sewing and Finishing the seams

Take your two 4 yd strips and sew them together to make your 8 yd bottom tier. Do this using French seams. Here is how to do it (it's kind of hard to see with white thread on white fabric that has no "wrong" side, so this tutorial might be helpful as well):

1. Sew raw edges together using a 1/4" seam allowance, and then trim the s.a. close to the stitch

2. Finger press the seam (you don't have to use an iron because you might melt your fabric; mine is 100% nylon).

3. Fold the pieces of fabric in the other direction. The raw edge is now between the two layers of fabric. Now sew another stitch to the left of the raw edge (that is sandwiched between the two layers).

This is what it should look like:

4. Now edge stitch that little flap down. This is not technically a flat felled seam (like the ones on the inseam of a pair of jeans) but it looks like one. So if this looks kind of like your jeans, then you did it right. Also sewing this down is not part of a French seam, a French seam is left at step 3.

Here is what the final thing should look like:

Do this again to the middle tier (which consists of two 2 yd strips).

Do this to ONLY ONE seam on the top tier. Leave the other seam open, for it will be finished differently.

To finish the open seams of the top tier, fold a 7/8" piece of ribbon around it and sew.

STEP 5:Basting stitches for gathering

Start basting stitches here:

And end them here:

Then start them again here:

And end here:

Each seam, on every tier, should look like this with the basting stitches starting at either side:

Then leave them, do not do any gathering yet.*Starting and ending the basting stitches at each seam, gives you more places to gather from, which makes it easier, you'll see.

STEP 6:Finishing the hem

Cut a piece of 7/8" ribbon a couple inches over 8 yds long. Fold it over the hem of the bottom tier and pin.

When you get to the end, cut the corners off and fold the last part of the ribbon under to finish it.

Then sew.

STEP 7:Gathering each tier to the next

1. First notch the center point with a little pencil mark between the two seams on all tiers for matching purposes.

2. Pin the top tier to the middle matching seams and pencil marks

3. Gather the bottom tier to the middle, and pin as you go along.

4. Sew with 1/2" seam allowance

5. Finish by sewing a piece of ribbon over the raw edge. (Do this BEFORE gathering the middle tier to the top tier.) Place your fabric in the sewing machine with the bottom gathered tier on the left and the ungathered middle tier on the right of the presser foot.

Place the left ribbon edge just over the seam you just sewed, and edge stitch all the way around.

Then stitch the right side of the ribbon down. Fold the ribbon under to finish the end.6. Repeat 1-5 to add the middle tier to the top tier. This is what the top tier at the ribboned seams should look like:

STEP 8:Finishing the top

1. Cut a piece of 1/4" twill tape equal to your waist measurement. Gather the top to this.

2. Sew. Make sure the twill tape edge does not go past 3/8". That way when you finish the top with a folded ribbon none of it will show.

3. Cut a piece of 7/8 ribbon about 3'' longer than your waist measurement. Fold this over the top, and sew. Leave the 3" extra hanging passed one ribboned edge.

Finish the ribbon edges by folding them under as you sew.

Almost done. . .

STEP 9: Closures

Sew the hook and the eyes here:

STEP 10: Look it over

Cut all hanging threads, and remove all visible basting stitches.

Now, if you have skirt such as this:Add the lovely petticoat you just made:And you get something like this:

YESH!

Also, when you are done with yours, I would love to see it. Send me a picture to sugardaleclothing@gmail.com. And if you want I will post it on my blog (with a link to yours), so you can show it off, because unfortunately all this hard work is just going under something else.

I love this tutorial. Though it may notwork formy daughter's fairycostume, I'll be putting theprinciples to use in its construction for sure. Amazingly thorough instruction. I keep comng back to drool over the one under the metal skirton a previous post's photo of your art installation. Beautiful work, all of it!

hey, just found you and I love your site. I just did a blog about how much I love my petticote but its vintage and needs to be retired, I am totally going to use your pattern, thanks alot! Cute glasses too!

Lovely clear tutorial, thank you! Could you just clarify exactly what crinoline is, I've seen it described as an open weave cheesecloth fabric which has been stiffened, but from your photos, it looked more like a synthetic taffeta. Thanks again!

Piroska, to answer your question about crinoline I am just going to quote wikipedia: 'Crinoline was originally a stiff fabric with a weft of horse-hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread. The fabric first appeared around 1830, but by 1850 the word had come to mean a stiffened petticoat or rigid skirt-shaped structure of steel designed to support the skirts of a woman’s dress into the required shape. In form and function it is very similar to the earlier farthingale.' With that said, I think crinoline has come to mean any fabric that has been stiffened to pouf some skirts. The fabric I bought was called "crinoline" and was made of 100% nylon. I suppose you could make your petticoat out of anything. I have been thinking about making one out of cotton, because my nylon one gets pretty sweaty on hot summer days. I'll try it out one day and see if I can still achieve the same extra volume of fullness I want, and then I'll probably post about it.

Eleonora, the petticoat I demonstrated I worked the math from the bottom up (for easy explaining purposes) and I gathered twice the amount of fabric on the lower tier to the upper one. For you I would suggest you work the math from the top down. For example: You could take 50" and I would gather 2 1/2 yards (which is 1.75 times your waist measurement) into that, which would make your next tier twice as big and be 5 yards, and the next one 10 yards. If you decide to do that then I think 7 yards of fabric might do it (I would try to find the widest width of fabric possible), and 17 3/4 yards of ribbon. The the same math applies for the length of the petticoat 50/3=16.666667, or you could just round to 16.5 inches for each tier and add seam allowances like I explained in the tutorial. I hope that helps. Good luck.

Thanks for the petticoat tutorial! I'm planning on making one to wear under a skirt for my aunt's wedding in the summer. Did you make a summer specific one yet? I want to know which fabric would be best suited for August weather...

oh i also wanted to know how wide is the 4 yards of before cutting it into the strips?

Is it possible to simplify these instruction, I'm quite not getting it3. Fold the pieces of fabric in the other direction. The raw edge is now between the two layers of fabric. Now sew another stitch to the left of the raw edge (that is sandwiched between the two layers).

The fabric I used was 54" from selvage to selvage. My strips were 8", so I actually had a little fabric left over.

I am going to make another petticoat soon that is made of tulle (without ribbon) but is basically the same as this tutorial, and then I am going to put another layer of eyelet fabric under it, and another layer over it, so my skin doesn't have to touch the tulle, and so the outside looks nice. I'll post pictures of that when I am done.

As for the french seams, you weren't quite understanding, this video tutorial might help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAzfPtAARbY&feature=player_embedded

I made my first petticoat on Saturday. It wasn't as neat as it could have been as it was my first excursion with my sewing machine and I was in rather a hurry. However it is tres pretty and made my dress nice and pouffy! I made it out of cotton as that was all I had. I can't seem to find crinoline in the UK. Any ideas what else it may be called?

Yeah, "crinoline" is a tricky thing. Long ago, it used to be the name of the skirt as well as the fabric it was made from, but today, there are so many man made fabrics, as well as all the natural ones, that many things get named crinoline and they can be cotton, or nylon, or who knows.

The fabric I used was 100% nylon, and on the bolt was called "crinoline". It is similar to organza (which can be made of polyester or silk), but a little stiffer. I don't know how else to describe it. I would look in the bridal or special occasion section of a fabric store and there might be something like it.

I did make another petticoat using tulle, and talked about it on one of my more recent posts. http://sugardale.blogspot.com/2009/04/petticoat-tutorial-really-fast-version.html so that is another option.

Thanks Trista, that's really helpful. I've bought some quite stiff organza to have a go with now. I'm curious about making one with many layers, like your 10 layer one. How do you go about it? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

To make the 10 layered one, I repeated this tutorial 10 times. I did use tulle for it though, so I only finished the bottom hem. Then, before I finished the tops of each petticoat, I combined a few and sewed them into one waist band. So instead of wearing 10 separate petticoats, I wear 4. I gathered 2 petticoats into one waist band, and another 2 into another, and 3 into another waist band, and another 3 into another. 3+3+2+2=10 layers. So that's how I did it. That way I can wear only a few layers if I want to.

I love this tutorial. By far the best petticoat tutorial on the web. I used it to make a petticoat for my graduation party dress and linked back to the tutorial on craftster here:http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=309435.0

You're such a life saver! I need to make a long, puffy dress for character I'm dressing as for a convention in a about a month, so this is really going to come in handy. And save me a bit of money too! If you still want pictures I'd be happy to email some when it's finished :)

Wow! I just stumbled into this (#1 on google when I put it "How to make a petticoat) and I think I love you xD

Everyplace else said it was tedious and had poor ins ructions with no pictures. Your's is sooo the opposite of that, and you were great about answering questions! Anything I wanted to know I ended up finding in the comments. Thanks!

I'm really glad I found this site! ^_^ Petticoats are expensive too! Nice ones, at least. Although I have to confess, used the pattern for the skirt part of a dress instead of making an actual petticoat. >_>

I have to say thank you for posting these wonderful instructions. I am not going to send you a picture of my petticoat, because it was not pretty or precise, but all I needed was poof to go under a civil war ball gown and it was poofy! :)

I was desperately needing help last night to finish this up. (I was trying to figure it out on my own with no pattern or instructions.) God led me to your site.

Thank you so much Trista for your amazing petticoat tutorials! Hopefully the link I'll post works, but I thought I'd show you what I made from your tutorial. It's made of three layers of three tiers each with ribbon around the lower edges. Without you, it would have been so difficult. Thanks again!

THIS IS THE BEST INSTRUCTIONAL BLOG I'VE COME ACROSS YET!! Thank you SO much. I am officially in FULL understanding of what I need to do. You did a great job sewing it, and describing it. Thanks for the pictures too.

WOW...I am SO glad I found your blog, because this is FABULOUS! I need to make a petticoat for myself and my daughter, and I didn't even know where to start. You're instructions are awesome! Can't wait to get started! :-)

Sorry for the confusion. Ok, you will need two 4yd strips for the bottom tier, two 2yd strips for the middle tier, and two 1yd strips for the top tier. Basically, each tier should double as it goes down.

I suggest for each tier to have two seams (for example, sewing together two 1yd strips instead of one 2yd strip, for the top tier)this will make it easier to match to the seams of the next tier.

Would this work with a skirt that is not a circle skirt? I have a dress made that comes to just the knee but is sort of like a very full aline.. Im not sure how to explain it. It's 20 inches from waist to hem. The waist line is 32 inches around and when I measure around the bottom of the skirt it is 75.5 inches. Forgive me if this was unessesary information but I have been wracking my brain trying to find a good tute and yours is fantastic And I would love to use it.

I am pretty sure that 75.5" is a big enough hemline. I have a few dresses that are the similar. When I go to my studio tomorrow, I will measure the hem of some of them that fit over the petticoat, and get back to you.

Okay. I just wanted to say that I offically love your blog. My friend actually found you site--we both appriciate the awesomeness of petticoats and have been wanting to make one.I've already completed one(knee-length 3-tier tulle) and it was wonderfully easy and fun(my first sewing project after months hiatus). However, one question:How do I know how much to gather, when joining the tiers? I joined the bottom to the middle fine(I think) but when it come to gather the middle to the top,I finished and found that it was slightly too tight and out of of proportions(kinda too puffy?)

Yay! Thanks for you answering me. :) I plan on working on my floor length cotton (will that work out well you think?)petticoat some time this week. I guess what I need to ask now is, how do I know how to much to gather? Especially when I'm gathering the middle tier to the top. Thanks again for all your help! <3

This tutorial seems pretty straight forward and easy to accomplish. I can't wait to try it.

You really seem to know what you're talking about, so I have to seek some advice.

I am planning on making a dress similar to this one; http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/10300000/New-Alice-in-Wonderland-Mia-Wasikowska-Photoshoot-alice-in-wonderland-2010-10340859-1126-1450.jpg

As you can see, the bottom has two overlapping sections. I was planning on making the bodice and top tier together, and then making a petticoat for the bottom tier. My question for you is; how should I go about making the petticoat that big? It is at least twice the size of the one demonstrated in your tutorial. I need to know how much material I should purchase to complete both the bottom petticoat and the top section attached to the dress.

I'm very excited to try this! I've been searching the internet for plus size colored/dyed petticoats to go under my wedding dress with little luck or an outrageous price tag. I've never worked with tulle before, but I've got a fancy serger that may help the process go quickly. I'll give it a go and let you know how it turns out :)

To make a petticoat that full, it won't mean putting more fabric in one petticoat, but rather making two petticoats.

For example, this petticoat I made:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9D24jlu2NSU/SatUIOQgMbI/AAAAAAAAAdY/A3MRAZC5iMo/s1600-h/10layers.jpgIs the same exact one I demonstrate in my tutorial, it is just 10 of them worn at one time.

It looks like the Alice dress will be at least two petticoats, maybe three, but I don't think it will need to be any more that that.

Good Luck.

P.S.Don't you just love Coleen Atwood and all the stuff she designs? Man, she is great.

I had answered that question previously in the comments section, so I'll just copy the answer for you:

To make the 10 layered one, I repeated this tutorial 10 times. I did use tulle for it though, so I only finished the bottom hem. Then, before I finished the tops of each petticoat, I combined a few and sewed them into one waist band. So instead of wearing 10 separate petticoats, I wear 4. I gathered 2 petticoats into one waist band, and another 2 into another, and 3 into another waist band, and another 3 into another. 3+3+2+2=10 layers. So that's how I did it. That way I can wear only a few layers if I want to.

I made a two layer petticoat and it's great. Thanks so much for posting this. I also needed a red one and ended up using ripstop nylon. Wow, what a pain, but now the petticoat will stand up all by itself!! Just use heavy thread and be very patient, oh and use lots and lots of fray check.

OH GOD THIS IS AMAZING. I just saw this reversible petticoat from American Apparel (but I detest the company and refuse to buy things from them) so I started looking for a way to make my own (I own one of my own but it's not quite as full as I'd like, it served it's purpose for my high school graduation though). I'm going to make my own! Probably one that I can wear as a skirt on it's own....Teehee. Will definitely send you photos when finisehd.

What a great tutotial! I am sewing a dress that will have a petticoat under it, and I plan to follow your instructions (as they ar so detailed and easy to follow!). The fabric for the skirt of the dress has a lace edge, so I need to make everything work out right to meet the desired end skirt length (1 inch above the knee). How much did the petticoat shorten the dress in the tutorial?

It is hard to just explain how to gather using just words, so I will direct you to another tutorial on how to do this. This tutorial involves instructions on how to gather by hand and machine. Follow the instructions on how to do it by machine.

Wow the tutorial is so simple!! i have been searching for a guide to make a crinoline slip or a tulle slip for my new 50's swing dress i bought and this is absolutely perfect!! I have the material and this is just what i needed to get it done, thank you so so much. i will most definitely send you pics of mine as soon as i get it done. Thank you again so much, you made my life easier and didn't dent my wallet!!

This tutorial is great and I can't wait to make a petticoat for myself but I was wondering...what would you change about the amount of fabric and such to adjust to fit a child? Any advice would be great because I'd like to make one for my daughter as well. Thank you. =)

Depending on how small/old your child is, I would just do two tiers instead of three. And I would take your child's waist measurement, and add about 5", and that will be the top tier, (if the waist measurement is 15", make the top tier 20"). And then the next tier I would maybe do 30" or 35" to be gathered. It kind of depends. I just wouldn't make it too big, you don't want to lose your daughter in one of the petticoat layers. Good luck.

Hi there, just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for this tutorial, I made up two of these for my Civil Partnership this year, one in tulle, see http://www.burdastyle.com/projects/civil-partnership-outfits-x-3?image=138801 and another with the top two layers in a lining fabric so that it's not so itchy to sit on! I have linked to your tutorial on my burda post. oh and I love your site - so stylish :-)

thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! I made one to go under my 50s dress and it was so easy and pretty! thanks again!i posted the picture on my blog here:http://petiterepublic.wordpress.com/2010/09/05/juebejues-favorite-dress-sneak-peek/

this is such a great tutorial! So easy to follow. I just spent hours looking for a petticoat for a dress i just bought my daughter for her father/daughter ball in November and then decided to search for a pattern and this was #1 on google under how to make a petticoat. Good for you. anyway, i will be making a slightly smaller version but i love this and will be looking through your site to see what other treasures and wonderful secrets you have shared!

This is really cool. Good job, it seems pretty easy to understand. I will attempting to make myself a petticoat to wear with my Halloween costume this year (which I have yet to make). I am planning on being Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I gonna do her outfit from the beginning of the movie, the blue and white one instead of the yellow dress that everyone always seems to do for her. Thanks so much for taking the time to put this tutorial together. I just need to buy some supplies and I will be on my way to making a petticoat.

I have been all over town and the internet today trying to find black crinoline fabric. I'm in a 1940s all-girl singing group, and I want to make these to go under our dresses. We have a couple of moves where we flounce our skirts, and since the dresses are red and black, I didn't want white to show underneath.

Do you have any suggestions on where I could find black crinoline? I see a lot of black tulle--not exactly what I'm looking for.

Would I just make one a bit beyond knee length and one a bit above knee length and bind them together? How many tiers should each one be? (4 tier & 2 tier? or 4 & 3 tier? 3 & 2? Hmph.) Would one layer work or should I make them double layered? (I'm using tulle, btw)

Also, how could I go about making the red outer layers? Could I just make a tulle circle skirt and put it over the petticoat? (like this: http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=Circle+skirt+tutorial#/d1hvoe6)

First make one petticoat the longest length (just passed the knee) make it with 3 tiers, just like my tutorial, and I would make it double layered as well. Do this just using the black material.

For the red material, I would suggest making another skirt that can be sewn to the same waistband as the black petticoat. Make this the same length as the black, but maybe just two tiers (which will save time, and I think achieve the same look).

Then for that top shorter skirt, I would make another petticoat,using the same pattern you did for the bottom black one, just omitting the bottom tier, and make it just one layer. For the red top layer on the that one, I would just cut two different lengths of red material: one long enough to reach the bottom of the black top petticoat, and one just a few inches shorter-do you see what I mean in the picture?- but instead of making a petticoat skirt, I would make a dirndl skirt, which is the easiest pattern ever. Easier than the circle skirts you refrenced.

A dirndl skirt is just a big rectangle. In the case of your skirt, it will be as long as that top petticoat skirt, and about 2 1/2 to 3 yards wide. Sew up the seam. And then gather all those 3 yards into your waist measurement, and you will get a nice poufy, ruffly, gathered skirt. You can just sew this into the waistband of the top skirt petticoat.

I would also keep both petticoat skirts in separate waistbands otherwise that is going to be a lot of material gathered into one waistband.

Thank you for your time to make this tutorial. I can see it helped a lot of people already and I know tommorow is gonna help me too to make my own petticoat.Also you answered so many questions that I really understand everything now (all I have to do is change inches to centimetres and I'll be fine :) )

I just bought some tulle today and tommorow i'm gonna do it for a costume of alice I'm planning to do.I was wondering..I really like the puffynes on this picture:http://www.halloweenplayground.com/alicewonder-p-5723.html(but i would make it a little bit longer)

How many petticoats do you thing I should do for that? Should they be 3 tiers or maybe 2 because it's gonna be shorter?

If I look at the petticoat that's used here in the picture up:http://www.halloweenplayground.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=Petticoat+-+Layered+Stiff+Tull&x=0&y=0

it doesn't look like there are many layers, but i don't know what is that in the end that makes it look so puffy..

if you can give me some advice of how to achieve that kind of look i would be very grateful...

Thank you so much for your time..you're the greatest and I really love your designs too ;) <3

I have to admit that I found your tutorial several times but got 'demotivated' by the 8 yard fabric row picture. However, I decided to give reading a go and it wasn't all that hard! Your tutorial is very clear and I think I'll be able to make my own petticoat now. I really want to thank you and I hope my petticoat will turn out nice (I'll be making one out of tulle). Thanks again!

This is brilliant! Super helpful for my next big project too. And I have a quick question about how many petticoats I should use/other possible materials I could use.

I'm making a pocky princess dress with pocky boxes, I know that it will weigh a ton and wonder about how many petticoats I should use so it actually poofs out or if I should use a more sturdy fabric and if so what might be compatible.

Using a gathering foot is easy to learn. You start with lots of scraps and adjust the stitch length until the gathering ratio is what you desire. 2:1, 4:1, etc. Once you get the hang of it, it will really simplify the gathering process on long pieces of fabric.

Another really easy way to gather is to use the widest zigzag to stitch over dental floss. The fabric slides on the floss much like a curtain on a rod. Some presser feet even have a tiny hole where you can feed the dental floss through.

With the help of your tutorial and your mighty wisdom to the users here I Have manage to make these full length petticoats for a Belle inspired dress! Thankyou so much!https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150291792332500&saved

This tutorial is really great! I just have a question: is this the right petticoat for a dress like this: http://store.prostores.com/fanplusfriend/catalog/DR00011B_01.jpg ? Thank you very much, and again really great job :D

I love thing is....trying to do a teeny one for flower girl and will only be 15 inches long total. I'm making it half size as far as length to be gathered up ie: bottom would be 4 yards instead of 8. My question is...bottom line is each ascending tier half the volume of the one lower? So I'll have 4, 2,1 bottom to top? Thanks for this GREAT tutorial!!

I have been asked to make a petticoat for a friends wedding dress. It needs to "poof" out to a 35cm (about 15") radius at the floor. Do you think that this petticoat would work ? or would the satin be too heavy ? how many layers do we need ? thanks for the help

Given you have some time to experiment, I would make the petticoat according to my tutorial. Since it is going to the floor you would have to lengthen each tier (or you could try adding a 4th tier), and if it isn't pouffy enough, I would make another entire petticoat to add on top of it.

I've just recently started sewing, and this tutorial was super easy to follow!I had an issue with my gathering and part of the petticoat is flat and boring, I've tried adding more ruffling, but I'm worried if I add much more I'm going to bring the bottom in too much. Would you suggest adding more tulle to the flatter parts to get more equal fullness? I'd really rather not have to start all over, but the difference is completely obvious. Any suggestions would be great!

this is uhhhmazing. thank you for taking the time to do this, it makes perfect sense. now i won't have to safety pin a badly fitting skirt from forever 21 to the inside of my betty draper halloween dress to make it poofy!

Thank you so much for this tutorial, I just have one question. Is this the method you used to make the petticoat in your picture at the top of the screen? It looks more rounded and bell shaped. Whats the difference?

Thank you so much for writing this! I just finished my petticoat, and I am wearing it right now, and it is beautiful! I used 100% cotton crinoline (from JoAnn's Fabrics), and I just used pinking scissors to cut the edges instead of Fray Check.Your instructions were very clear. Thanks!-Julia

Lovely! I think the material you are using is called "tafeta" though because that's what I used and it looks like the fabric you used here. Any who I changed it a little bit and didn't use the ribbon but it looks fantastic and I have material left to make a second one because I need more poof.

Thankyou so much for this Tutorial, it's fantastic! I'm nearly finished my petticoat and it's looking fab. I made mine from the petticoat from my wedding dress, it's a really stiff tulle and I'm going to ribbon the seams between each layer. I will definitly send you a picture when it's finished. Thankyou again

Hi, great blog. I was looking for instructions on how to make a crinoline and yours are the best out there. I will be wearing this with a heavy brocade vintage circle skirt and needed to do this fast and cheap, so I am using some kind of organdy-stiff, sheer fabric made in Switzerland that I bought at an estate sale over 25 years ago...Anyway, I wanted to give the heavy skirt extra support, so I cut two of the layers (tiers 3 and 4) so they were double the height and I am folding them in half and then gathering them up along the fold. Since I am using one of these folded layers for the 3rd tier, this will split the petticoat into 2 layers, allowing me 3 (or if I had enough fabric, 4) layers on the last tier (the other double layer piece and one single) I didn't have enough fabric or time to make 2 complete petticoats. I am posting this in case it might help someone else. I hope it all makes sense! :o

Thanks for this tutorial. I made it a couple weeks ago and didn't have any major construction problems. I did wonder if you could help me with one problem I'm having. I need to make a cupcake shaped petti to go under the lolita skirt I'm going to be wearing it under. Do you have any idea how I could make it a little more rounded at the top so I get a cupcake silhouette instead of a A-line?

I am trying to calculate the exact fabric needed as I am going to make 4 petticoats and dont want to pay for extra fabric. Am I right to assume that after you have cut your 4 yd strips, you actually have spare a 2yd strip? ie you cut the top tier in half and half again to create 2 x 1 ys strips, therefore there is a 2yd strip left over.

I would make the petticoat how I did in my tutorial. And then take another 4 or 8 yard strip and gather that into the waist as well. It might look a little weird, but it will give you some extra pouf at the top. Does that make sense?

In case people are still looking for the right fabric... what works really well is cotton ORGANDY (not to be confused with organza). It's like crinoline fabric but not so stiff and wider widths. Also cotton crinoline is dry clean only - the stiffness washes out with water. Cotton organdy can be washed and dried and stays stiff. It comes in colors and is relatively inexpensive (exception is swiss cotton organdy used in heirloom sewing $$$) I usually can't find it locally but it's all over the web. I just made a petticoat out of nylon organza as a test. It's pretty but not as much poof as organza isn't as stiff as organdy.

Thank you for this, I'm looking forward to getting started on mine! quick question: do you have any suggestions for adapting it into an elastic waistband? I think I want my petticoat to have an elastic so that I can adjust the length by "rolling" the waistband under to wear with a variety of skirt lengths. Thanks!

Thank you for this tutorial. I just finished my petticoat and I love the ribbon detail and how much poof it his. However, the waist poofs out more than yours. I am afraid it will make my dress (next to be sewn) more cupcakeish rather than poofy a-line. Any suggestions on what I can do?Thanks!

Hi! How amazing!!! I'm trying to make my own ballroom gown (for competition) but it's really hard to get the fluency in the bottom of the dress... It seems also very hard to find some good crinoline in Belgium...

I'm making vintage vogue V2962 And although I have shortened it to about 17" there is still 5.5yds of charmeuse and 5.5 of organza gathered up into the 36" waist, so it puffs out quite a bit at the waist but then just hangs straight down because of the weight. So of course I want to add a petticoat, but my quandry is that I bought tulle before I understood just how much stiffer crinoline would be and I'm afraid the tulle will not support the skirt sufficiently to give it that nice flare instead of just adding a bunch of bulk to my waist and then hanging rather unflatteringly! So I was thinking I'd do 2 layers of tulle in each tier (rather than one as the directions show) but will that be enough? Should I even do 3 layers? I've never made a petticoat before and the only one I've ever worn was a giant one under my wedding gown, so I'm just not sure how much is too little or too much! Please help!(Awesome tutorial by the way, so clear and so helpful!)

Sorry to get back to you so late. One layer of petticoat may not be enough as you predict. I would just make two petticoats, and gather them into the same waistband. And if that is not enough, then go ahead and try three. Hope that helps.

To me the petticoats look pretty much the same except for the length of each tier. Also there are only two tiers instead of three. I think making the top tier shorter than the bottom will make the petticoat fuller on the top, and making the bottom tier longer will allow it to drape and fall more.

To make this I would follow all the steps of this tutorial, but instead of doing 3 tiers, do only two. Make the top one about 4"-5" inches or so, and the bottom one as long as you need to achieve the length you want.

Example:

If I want a petticoat that is 20" long I will make the top tier 5" and the bottom one 15".

Also, it looks like there are at least three layers of petticoat. So if you just make 3 (or more) petticoats and combine them into one waistband, I think you will get a bell shaped look.

And if you still need more fullness at the top, try adding just a top tier between the layers of petticoats. Does that make sense?

Is this going to go under a lolita dress? Oh man those are so cute. Let me know if you have anymore questions, and I'll do my best.

Thank you so much for your help! I'll be sure to show you the petticoat when it's done! I'm actually saving up money for a sewing machine, so I won't be able to make it for a while still. Do you know of any decently priced sewing machines that are good for beginners? :)

@Suzy C - I kind of had the same problem. I couldn't find crinoline (maybe we call it something else, I'm not sure) so I got a tulle that turned out to be a bit too fine and floppy. To fix that, I've got some much stiffer netting and I'm making another bottom two tiers in that. Then I'll make another top tier out of the original tulle - I think the netting will be too stiff to gather that much at the waist. Then I'm going to make another one out of the first tulle, just at half the measurements (so the bottom is 4m round rather than 8) to go underneath so the netting isn't all scratchy. That should hold the shape a bit better.

Thank you very much for this very clear tutorial! Yesterday I had an exam in my dance school and of course wanted some fluff for my dress! I made the tulle version. But since I'm not that skinny (big hips), I made a tight-fitting extra top tier. And it worked out fine and in time! Thanks again!

My wonderful bridesmaids are wearing swing dresses (http://www.unique-vintage.com/1950s-style-heartbreaker-black-monique-swing-dress-with-waist-size-p-11102.html) <-- those are their dresses. I am looking to make red petticoats for underneath. I want the petticoats to stick out a little bit (the red underneath is important). How much longer should i make it? Any other tips would be wonderful :)

I absolutely love your tutorial. It's very easy to understand. I have been shopping around for a petticoat to go under the dress I plan on wearing for my upcoming Halloween wedding. It's a horror themed 50;s style swing dress. I couldn't find one for a decent price so I decided I would just make it myself. I will share pictures when I get it all done!!

I'm not sure if u made another post about this elsewhere but I came across another blog that has the same instructions. http://disfruta-tu-cosplay.blogspot.com/2010/11/tutorial-how-to-make-petticoat.html

Uh, oh...when sewing the bottom gathered tier to the middle tier, I sewed them with right sides together so that the raw edges are on the inside of the garment. But now I'm looking at your pic for the next step, and the raw gathered edge of the bottom tier is clearly sewn to the outside of the middle tier. I hope this doesnt make a difference, as I am not ripping it apartLOL..I am gonna still add the ribbon and keep on trucking, we shall see very shortly!!

so yeah. After reading this and needing one for my wedding coming up (been married for 2 1/2 years, finally doing a wedding! Yay military and having babies...) I think I have a crush on you! Thank you so much for posting this tutorial! I needed it more than I can tell you, and I'm SO grateful that you posted it. Crinoline sounds like the way to go for me and since that's 100% cotton (at least what I'm buying) it won't be so itchy!

Oh, and I'm totally into the vintage retro stuff, so this is great for full circle skirts too! Thanks so much! :D

I need to make a 35" petticoat. I was going to 5 tiers of 7 in. I was wondering how I would cut the strips? I know that you cut the amount in half everytime you make a tier. Ut it starts to get rediculously small! Thanks a lot!

I'm stuck on a few things: first, for a nearly-floor length circle skirt, do you recommend doing three tiers or five? I read somewhere to always use an uneven number of tiers, so I'm hesitant to use some other number. Is there an advantage to having more or less tiers for a longer skirt than for a shorter skirt?

Second, if I'd like the base of the petticoat to be 10 yards around (what I've got), how long should each of the other tiers be? I'm thinking that if I do a five tiered petticoat, I can simply decrease each tier by two (so that I'd end up with 10 yards on the bottom, 8 on the next on up, 6, 4, and then 2 yards to be gathered to my waist measurement). Is this a good way to go about it?

I'm a good seamstress, so I had the right idea about basic construction, but when I started looking for specifics for making little girls' foofy tutu/pettiskirts,(yardage, fabric type, construction secrets and tips)I found several sites that tried to give instructions. Your presentation is the very best on the web ... great, great job. Thanks so much. My granddaughter's princess dress is going to be really special. :)

Hi Sugardale, thank you so much for your tutorial it really is very, very good. I live in the UK and am finding it impossible to find crinolin? Could you tell me exactly what the fabric is and if you know of a UK equivalent. I have visited several US websites and have found cotton crinolin but they want to charge me either for a minimum order or as I only want 4 yards $40 for shipping. I want to make four of the petticoats to go under bridesmaids dresses for my daughters wedding in June. Any help you could give me would be appreciated.

What size would you say this petticoat would fit? My daughter is 9 but not sized as a 9 year old :) She normally wears a size 00 or 0 in the American Eagle and Abercrombie. I'm currently in the process of making a dress form that is a mold of her body but I'm trying to determine how much supplies I will need for this petticoat to fit her. Also, I see you stated that the tulle is itchy but fluffier and the crinoline isn't. Would you suggest maybe doing a layer or two of the tulle and then the bottom layer be a crinoline, or would this look totally crazy? I love your designs, and my daughter was extremely excited to see your page as well.

You can make this petticoat to fit her. The one I made, fits me and my waist is 26", and I wanted it to be about 22" long. So if her waist is smaller, you just have to gather that top tier into a smaller measurement. And lengthen or shorten accordingly.

You can make this in tulle. I would suggest doing something like this: http://sugardale.blogspot.com/2009/04/petticoat-tutorial-really-fast-version.html to prevent itchiness.

Thank you so much for this! I have bought a rockabilly dress for a wedding and was appalled that the petticoat cost the same as the dress so with your instructions close to hand I will make one! Ha ha!

You might have more luck looking up silk organza (I think it is made with polyester too), or cotton organdy. I have never used organdy, but it is a stiff cotton and would really add some pouf. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have anymore quesitons.

Would pinking shears work instead of fray check?I ask because fray-stop is really expensive where I live.

I also know you've probably answered this before dozens of times but, in regards to fullness, is there a reason you don't recommend using yards and yards of fabric in the one petticoat? I know in the Alice Lon tutorial and other variants you need to use over 40 yards in the bottom tier. Just curious about that :)

So, I'm off to buy some organdy and ribbon. I may play around with my serger and do a rolled hem over fishing line instead of attaching 8 yds of ribbon on the lowest tier (but your finished product is so pretty...I cant decide!) Your tutorial is crystal clear and I can't wait to get this made so I can wear it to a wedding on Saturday! [it may take longer to clear off my sewing table than to actually make this!]

I absolutely love this tutorial. I found soft tulle at my local fabric store (it's soft and non scratchy like crin but doesn't fray like crin), so I'm making one for myself, and I'm also altering the tutorial so I can make one for my niece who will be 1 in january. I'm making her a vintage styled swing dress, and she absolutely needs a matching petticoat!

Okay so im clearly being completely dense but ive got my knickers in a twist!Ive cut the 4 strips of 8inx4yds.I left 2 as they were at 4yrds. I cut one in to 2x 2yd strips. So why do i have another 4 yard strip for the top when it looks like i will only need a yard to go round my waist? Ive read it over and over but i think im getting more confused each time! please say its something simple and im being stupid, no one else seems to be having a problem! Thanks

Please post about tj the cotton petticoat...I originally set out to find how to make a cotton one but found this & will try this first! I hardly ever sew but I'm set on making a petticoat! I'd love to see you master it while you make it look so easy ♥!

happy to see petticoats make a comeback. I was born in 1954. my mother made petticoats for my sister and me. I saw a young woman wearing a skirt with a petticoat in a current film last night and was delighted. so feminine.

Hi! I'm so happy I could find your tutorial again. After ages of waiting I finally managed to get a glorious 25yard bolt of chiffon for a wonderful deal just to make a few petticoats out of. I did have a question out of curiosity though.

I know you mostly work with tulle and crinoline, and I know it takes alot of chiffon to achieve the same results as those other fabrics do. I was doing some math and I wanted to see what you think of my amounts (as I have never built a petticoat and you have ALOT of experience).

My first petticoat (as I think I can make two from 25yards) will be a 4 tier. So far I was planning bottom tier being 10y gathered to 6y, gathered to 3y, gathered to 1.5y, gathered to my waistline/bellybutton line (approx. 33inches. I am a pear shape girl so I don't want too much right on my hips for an A-line).

My second one I want to make as a bell shape petti but I don't know if I should do it 3 or 2 tiers. If its 3 tiers I'm thinking 10y to 7y, to 4y, to waist. But if I do just 2 tiers I was thinking 10y to 4y, to waist.

I'm just so nervous about making them and having them not turn out as poofy as I want, this will be my first pettis and I want them to last me. What do you think?

About Me

Sugardale is a nickname that my Grandpa gave me. He was Herbert "Dale" Roland. I was named after him; my middle name is Dale. So I was his Sugardale. Cute huh? When I was trying to think of a name for my clothing, Sugardale was just it. It has a vintage sound to it, and all of my designs are vintage inspired, it's cute, and it's probably the best nickname I've ever had. Thanks Grandpa!